The disclosed technology relates to a medical device assembly, and in particular for urinary hydrophilic catheters. Catheters are commonly used for draining bodily fluids, e.g. from the bladder. Urinary catheters are e.g. used by a large group of persons for intermittent catheterization, which is a daily-life procedure, taking place several times a day. Typically catheters for intermittent catheterization are used by patients suffering from urinary incontinence or by disabled individuals like para- or tetraplegics. Using an intermittent catheter, the bladder may be drained through a natural or artificial urinary canal. Many catheters for intermittent catheterization are provided with a hydrophilic coating or the like, providing a smooth and slippery surface when wetted, for safe and comfortable insertion in the urinary canal.
Many hydrophilic catheter assemblies include a supply of wetting fluid, either in direct contact with the catheter or in a separate compartment, for clean and convenient activation of the hydrophilic surface before use.
However, there is still a need for improved packages for such catheter assemblies. The package should preferably be relatively simple and cost-efficient to produce. Further, the package should be easy to open, even for users with reduced dexterity. Still further, the package should enable adequate wetting of the catheter, and handling of the package in a clean manner. The package should also preferably be rather small, so that it can easily be carried around by the user in his/her daily life.
Many known catheter assemblies have tear openings. However, generally for known catheter assemblies with tear openings, the packages are difficult and cumbersome to open for the users, and in particular for users having reduced dexterity. In particular, both initiation and stop of the tearing action are difficult to control. The users often have problems in initiating the tear in the intended way. For example, one large group of users are people with injury in the spine, and a common side effect of this is that they have less natural moisture on the hands from perspiration, and hence their hands are dryer, with less friction in the grip. Specifically, the combination of less friction in the grip and limited dexterity affects the opening control, and when applying a pulling force, there is difficulty in starting the action in a controlled way. Also, stopping of the tearing action is problematic for the same reasons. It is generally very difficult to stop the tearing action in time once the tearing has started. Thus, there is a great risk of the so-called over opening. When over opening occurs, the medical device may inadvertently fall out, or in other ways be overly exposed in such a way that it may become contaminated prior to use. There is also a great risk of spillage of the wetting liquid and the like arranged together with the medical device in the package. Further, there is a great risk that the tear, once initiated, will progress in unwanted and unintended directions, which also will lead to either inadequate opening or over opening of the package.
In conclusion there is still a need for an improved medical device assembly of the above discussed general type.